The invention relates to an attachment connector assembly for use with hydraulic shovel type excavators and, more particularly, to such an assembly which enables an easy and precise adjustment of the orientation of the attachment as needed for handling materials such as rocks, dirt, logs, tree stumps and the like at a job site. The invention also relates to a grapple or bucket device used in combination with such a connector assembly.
Hydraulic shovel type excavators find applications in the field of civil engineering and construction. One type of such excavators is a backhoe which may be typically designed to suit working conditions wherein materials to be handled are located considerably under the ground level on which the backhoe is situated. The backhole typically comprises a stick arm or dipper stick to which various types of attachments can be selectively connected in order to carry out efficiently and effectively a wide variety of operations such as excavating, loading and offloading.
Various types of attachments are known in the art, including a grapple device having incorporated therein a rotating mechanism for providing controlled rotational movement of the grapple jaws relative to the grapple body about an axis of rotation thereof. This type of grapple device may be particularly advantageous in certain situations. For example, in demolishing a building, steel bars embedded in a reinforced concrete block are cut by grasping the reinforced concrete block by the grapple jaws and then twisting it through the rotation of the grapple jaws. Also, logs stacked in random orientations can be sucessfully handled because grapple jaws may be positively rotated to any position about the rotating axis. However, this type of grapple device has several drawbacks. First, the need to incorporate a rotation mechanism into each grapple device will not only increase the complexity of the grapple device but also add to the manufacturing costs. Secondly, any critical failure of the grapple jaws will necessitate replacement of the entire grapple device, even if the rotating mechanism functions properly. p Another well known type of attachment is a bucket device which is attached to a backhoe arm for a limited range of pivotal movement. The existing bucket devices, however, have limited capabilities; that is, the combined action of a boom, an arm and bucket cylinders permits the bucket device to be pulled only towards the backhole for excavation. Also, with the boom and arm of the backhoe in their raised position, the ability for the bucket device to excavate would be inherently limited.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment connector assembly for use with hydraulic shovel type excavators, which permits an easy and precise adjustment of the orientation of the attachment as needed for handling various types of materials.
It is another object of the invention to provide an attachment connector assembly which permits easy removal and replacement of the attachment when damaged.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a grapple or bucket device for use in combination with a connector assembly as mentioned above.